| The first excerpt represents the past or something you must release, and is drawn from The Circular Staircase by Mary Roberts Rinehart: Louise. A THANKLESS CHILD IS SHARPER THAN A SERPENT'S TOOTH."
"Nonsense!" I said bruskly. "I might have known enough to leave
them. It's a long time since you and I were in love, Liddy,
and--we forget."
Liddy sniffed.
"No man ever ,made a fool of me," she replied virtuously.
"Well, something did," I retorted.
CHAPTER XIX
CONCERNING THOMAS
Mr. Jamieson," I said, when we found ourselves alone after dinner
that night, "the inquest yesterday seemed to me the merest
The Circular Staircase |
The second excerpt represents the present or the deciding factor of the moment, and is drawn from The Apology by Xenophon: Val. Max. 7. 2, Ext. 1.
Whereupon Socrates, it is said, gently stroked the young man's head:
"Would you have been better pleased, my dear one, to see me put to
death for some just reason rather than unjustly?" and as he spoke he
smiled tenderly.[54]
[54] See Plat. "Phaed." 89 B, where a similar action is attributed to
Socrates in the case of Phaedo (his beloved disciple). "He stroked
my head and pressed the hair upon my neck--he had a way of playing
with my air; and then he said: 'To-morrow, Phaedo, I suppose that
these fair locks of yours will be severed.'"
It is also said that, seeing Anytus[55] pass by, Socrates remarked:
The Apology |
The third excerpt represents the future or something you must embrace, and is drawn from 1984 by George Orwell: because even the thought of making any physical effort was unbearable. He
could not run, he could not strike a blow. Besides, she was young and lusty
and would defend herself. He thought also of hurrying to the Community
Centre and staying there till the place closed, so as to establish a
partial alibi for the evening. But that too was impossible. A deadly
lassitude had taken hold of him. All he wanted was to get home quickly and
then sit down and be quiet.
It was after twenty-two hours when he got back to the flat. The lights
would be switched off at the main at twenty-three thirty. He went into the
kitchen and swallowed nearly a teacupful of Victory Gin. Then he went to
the table in the alcove, sat down, and took the diary out of the drawer.
1984 |
